Authors: Emily Barker
“
Al
right, here goes nothing.”
She sent a jolt to his brain, ordering him to wake up. He sat up immediately, turning toward her with evil intent. He almost made it to her before she ordered him back to sl
eep. He dropped like a sack of bricks
.
Nice try, but not
quite what she had in mind. Again she sent a jolt into his brain but this time she was ready for him. He stood up slowly, waiting for her next command.
“
Good boy. Now follow me and don
’
t make any sudden moves. No grabbing, no slapping and certainly
N
o Biting
,”
she ordered. He didn
’
t make a peep. “
Okay, let
’
s go.”
She stepped out into the dark hallway, thankful that it was empty. The dance floor was still hopping and she had to lead him the long way around instead of through, lest he break free of her
hold and attack somebody.
She sent a
thought to one of the guard on the way out the door to check on the girls. She was sure the whole incident had been caught on tape, as Adam had said the rooms all had hidden cameras but she couldn
’
t worry about it now. Her first priority was getting Dom safe and then she
’
d take care of the rest. If anyone saw her leading a blood soaked half naked man through the street they didn
’
t say anything. She was shielding as well as she could while still con
t
rolling Dom. Her best bet was to take him up to her room, wash him down, and let him sober up quietly without anyone interfering. It wasn
’
t a stretch of the imagination to think that he didn
’
t want anyone to see him like this. She
got
them back to the room
uninterrupted.
“
Sit on the bed. Stay there until I tell you different.”
He complied easily.
She rushed off to find Gloria. The chit was of course with Orleans, playing at making rounds around the neighborhood when really they were just chatting with
each other about politics. She swooped down off of the roof she had been running across to catch up, startling them both.
“
Jeanne! What are you doing? You
’
re supposed to be inside the club.”
Jeanne ignored the obviousness of Gloria
’
s statement.
She gra
bbed the chit and pulled her away from Orleans, around the corner from his prying eyes.
“
Do not come back to our room until dawn, do not tell anyone we have spoken, do not ask questions and you will have my permission to do as you please for the rest o
f the night.”
She gave Master Orleans a significant look
as he turned the corner looking for Gloria. He managed to take a hint and backed off. She turned
back to Gloria. “
Understood?”
“
Not really, but alright. Is everything okay?”
She asked.
“
What
part of don
’
t ask questions did you not understand?”
She didn
’
t wait for a response.
“
One more thing.”
She reached out for Gloria
’
s wrist and held it tight as she sunk her teeth into her. Gloria let out a gasp but didn
’
t fight her. After a few quick gulps
she swiped her tongue across the wound and dropped her hand. Gloria rubbed at her wrist.
“
You could have asked. That would have been the polite thing to do,”
she chastised.
“
I am never polite. I would have thought you would have noticed.”
She sm
iled. “
Thanks,”
she quipped, just to keep the girl on her toes.
A jolt into Orleans head and he forgot she was there.
As quick as lightening she flew back to the hotel, hoping to find Dom where she left him. She breathed a sigh of relief to see him waiting
patiently on her bed. His eyes were starting to roam though, across her chest, down her legs and back up to her face.
“
Let me go,”
he growled at
her.
She jumped at his scathing demand. His will to get at her was only a fraction less intense than her f
ear of letting him go.
She held on to him by a hairs breathe. In the back of her mind she thought,
W
hat
would be so bad about letting him have his way again?
But she couldn
’
t stand to lose another pint of blood
, considering half of what she had left she ha
d taken from Gloria
. His eyes followed her around the room as she stepped inside.
“
I want you to get up, go to the bat
hroom and take a shower. Finish as quickly as possible and when you are finished, put your pants back on and lay down here on this be
d.”
Her command didn
’
t seem to take at first but after a frightening moment of ignoring her he finally rose and walked toward the bathroom.
“
Come with me,”
he rumbled at her as he passed. She just managed to stop him as he reached out.
“
And no tou
ching!”
She leapt for the other side of the room. His laughter filtered through the door after she shut it behind him. The sound of the shower turned on and she breathed in a sigh of relief. What was she going to do with him? And this was quite her respon
s
ibility. Now she understood why he had hesitated about this new aspect of the mission. He was a recovering addict. And she had served his addiction up on a silver platter. This blood lust would cloud his mind for at least another twelve hours. If not more.
Why hadn
’
t he told them? Was he so ashamed that to even warn them of the danger seemed too terrifying to contemplate? And now that she knew, did she dare tell the others? His trust in her, if he had any at all, would be broken. But if she didn
’
t she risk
e
d blowing the mission. Adam and Vic would expect them to go back in tomorrow night. Unless she could get into the compound and kill Boris before there was a need for them to continue the
farce
of
club goers. There was a slim window between last call for the humans and the Blood Club heating up. If she could gather the troops to strike and get the girls out while simultaneously taking out Boris, there would be no need for Dom to feed again. She cou
l
d keep his secret, thus allowing him to come with her, no one the wiser and also save him from himself and temptation. She could do it. She was strong enough. As the plan formed in her mind the shower shut off and Dom stepped out of the tub. She could hea
r
him grabbing a towel. The door opened suddenly, steam poured from
the
opening, and Dom stepped out. Naked as the day he was born and glistening wet. The towel hung limp in his left hand. His manhood hung not so limp in his right.
“
I am a strong woman,
”
she whispered. His answering smile was carved by the devil himself.
Chapter Five
Dom sat straight up in bed, his heart hammering without his knowing why. His first instinct was to check the window b
ut the shutter held tight to the wall. Too many centuries of
never knowing if he would
wake up, old habits died hard.
He looked around the hotel room. He could hear Claude in the shower, humming an old Bee Gees tune. His back felt stiff, which was odd but
he ignored it as he stood and stretched.
“
I
’
m going out to grab a bite,”
he called out to Claude. A quick whirl around the room and he was dressed.
“
Alright man,”
Claude yelled back
, used to Dom
’
s evening feedings
. Dom left the room and headed tow
ard the second floor waiting area. It usually held a few business men or cheating husbands that needed ice or soda. Luck was with him tonight, there was one man bent over the ice machine, scooping out a cup full with the plastic bucket perched on the lip
o
f the machine. He commanded the man to stand up and hold himself still as Dom came in from behind to grasp his throat. Just before he bent to feed a strange sensation filled him. He didn
’
t want this. Not just that the thought of feeding from this man both
e
red him, the simple act of feeding from anyone at all filled him with disgust. Confused by the new sensation he let the man go, wiping his memory of the last minute. He wondered back up to his room, scratching at the back of his neck as he tried to proces
s
this new feeling. He wasn
’
t even
hungry really. A new mystery arose when he caught the faint smell of strawberries coming from his own skin. He sniffed gently as he entered the room.
“
Ode de Dominic by Calvin Klein,”
Claude laughed at Dom. He looked u
p but didn
’
t laugh with him.
Instead he held his arm out to
Claude.
“
Do I smell like fucking strawberries?”
He demanded. Claude backed up and Dom followed. “
Smell me God damn it!”
Claude sniffed him out of sheer terror.
“
Yeah, I guess.”
“
Why
do I smell like fucking strawberries?”
He paced around the room.
“
You
’
re asking me? How should I know?”
Claude watched him with terrified eyes. “
Why are you swearing about it? That
’
s what I want to know.”
“
My body wash is men
’
s Tahitian Breeze scen
ted,”
he stated.
“
Makes sense,”
Claude responded.
“
Not strawberry scented. And this isn
’
t women
’
s perfume. I can
tell. Perfume has that alcohol
smell to it. This is soap. Why the hell do I smell like women
’
s soap?!”
Claude jumped at his outburst.
“
I don
’
t know man! What did you do last night?”
“
I sat with Jeanne in the club. We discussed the case, we drank from a few girls and then we left,”
he explained. Claude stared at him, his brow furrowed. “
What?”
“
Dom...I don
’
t know how to say t
his...I think you
’
ve been wiped.”
He backed up a few steps, as if to avoid being hit. Dom looked at him aghast.
“
What? What the hell do you mean?”
He asked. Claude stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him toward the mirror in the
bathroom.
“
What did you say you did last night?”
“
I sat with Jeanne in the club. We discussed the case, we drank from a few girls and then we left.”
He watched a
s
he pantomimed the sentences to himself, seeing how obvious the statements were as h
e repeated them back with no inflection, no emotion. Rage boiled in his veins. Claude stepped back again.
“
I
’
m sorry man. That
’
s so messed up. Who could have done something like that? Adam? He
’
s the oldest.”
Claude sat down on his bed and scratched his
head.
“
I don
’
t know why he would. And that doesn
’
t explain the strawberry soap.”
He fumed, pacing the room again as he tried to puzzle it out. Adam would never do something so heinous, at least not without very good reason. That left Gloria and Jeann
e. It stood to reason that Jeanne was the likeliest candidate. They had been together last he remembered
. His last absolute clear memory was the group leaving for pizza, leaving Jeanne and himself alone in the club. Everything after that seemed stilted.
Ju
st snippets of
memory. A laugh here
and there
and a hatched plot for the following night taking shape as they discussed the plan. A set of girls in a red velvet room as they fed. He stopped in his tracts. Claude looked up at him.